The building sector remains a major contributor to increasing energy consumption and emissions. Meanwhile, the energy system is becoming more complex due to the transition to clean energy sources. Current tools and policies struggle to manage this complexity, as the existing infrastructure was not designed for such large dynamic distributed energy resources. This creates an urgent need to adopt emerging technologies for enhancing building energy management systems. The objective of this research is to develop a framework that integrates Blockchain and Digital Twin technologies to provide an efficient and trusted energy management platform that supports smart cities communities and to effectively contribute to enhancing the progress of UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG11 and SDG13. The proposed framework comprises four main elements: Blockchain platform, Digital Twin platform, Application Program Interfaces (APIs), and Building Energy Model. Blockchain platform automates energy billing by utilizing digital currency and smart contracts with pre-set pricing tiers and feed in tariffs. Digital Twin platform provides interactive communication and visualization with physical assets. APIs enables seamless interconnectivity between both platforms. The Building Energy Model acts as a prediction tool, and the simulation results are fed to Digital Twin platform to alert system participants in case actual consumption deviates from optimum values. The viability of the proposed framework is demonstrated using a case study of a residential apartment.

中文翻译：

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用于可持续建筑能源管理的集成区块链和数字孪生框架


建筑行业仍然是能源消耗和排放增加的主要贡献者。与此同时，由于向清洁能源的过渡，能源系统变得越来越复杂。当前的工具和策略难以管理这种复杂性，因为现有的基础设施不是为如此大型的动态分布式能源资源而设计的。这就迫切需要采用新兴技术来增强建筑能源管理系统。本研究的目标是开发一个集成区块链和数字孪生技术的框架，以提供一个高效且值得信赖的能源管理平台，以支持智慧城市社区，并有效地促进联合国可持续发展目标 （SDG） 的进展，特别是 SDG11 和 SDG13。拟议的框架包括四个主要元素：区块链平台、数字孪生平台、应用程序接口 （API） 和建筑能源模型。区块链平台利用数字货币和智能合约，具有预设的定价层和上网电价，从而实现能源计费的自动化。数字孪生平台提供与物理资产的交互式通信和可视化。API 支持两个平台之间的无缝互连。建筑能源模型充当预测工具，模拟结果被馈送到数字孪生平台，以便在实际消耗量偏离最佳值时提醒系统参与者。通过住宅公寓的案例研究证明了所提出的框架的可行性。